Chthonic AF: Unearthing Myths of Power, Sacred Rage, and the Monstrous Feminine
An Online Course Led by Mariola Rosario
To be chthonic is to be of the earth, of roots, buried things, and cycles of death and return. The chthonic holds our bones. It is the part of us that rages in the face of injustice. Primordial, mysterious, powerful, and unsettling.
There is a stench to the chthonic. A particular funk in the air. Teeth. Hisses. Howls. Rotted, juicy fruit. A musky darkness laced with an irresistible, pulsing call to life.
In Chthonic AF Scorpio Season, we enter the underlands as part of a living lineage. A continuum of myth, power, rage, and reclamation. These stories are not static. They are living forces meant to be moved with, wrestled with, transformed by. We excavate, untangle, question, and follow the red thread.
Figures like Persephone, Medusa, the Furies, and the Sirens dwell in this symbolic terrain. They embody all that is both feared and desired, what smells enticing and what reeks of danger. Their stories show us what happens when power is buried, when voices are silenced, and when the so-called monstrous rise from the depths to reclaim what was taken. They speak not only of ancient fears but of the ongoing call for justice in a world where violence against women, trans, nonbinary, racialized, and other marginalized bodies is normalized and weaponized as a means of control over flesh, voice, spirit.
This Scorpio-season edition is led by two primary monstrous guides: Medusa and the Sirens. Figures of fear and allure, they surface again and again in feminist, queer, and decolonial retellings. They draw us deep into the realms of perception—sight and sound, gaze and voice, as sites of power, pleasure, danger, and disruption.
What does it mean to be seen, or to petrify with a look?
What is the voice capable of, once unbound? When it seduces, screams, sings, or curses?
What is the voice capable of, once unbound? When it seduces, screams, sings, or curses?
Medusa and the Sirens call us to consider perception itself, to be seen and heard, and to face the consequences that follow. Their myths thrum with sensorial tension: the petrifying gaze, the deadly song, the risk of too much visibility or too much voice. How many of us have been cast as too much? Too loud. Too soft. Too unruly. Too strange. Too alive.
In this course, we’ll explore how the senses become both sites of power and tools of punishment, especially for those made monstrous. Through the eyes and mouths of these figures, we’ll ask:
~What happens when we gaze back?
~What kinds of voices are punished, silenced, mythologized, severed?
~How do sound and vision carry both seduction and resistance?
~What happens when the monster speaks?
THE CHTHONIC: CREATURES OF POWER, FEAR, AND SACRED TRANSFORMATION
This is a hybrid space, part lecture series, part ritual ground. Through live Zoom sessions, recorded mythological retellings, lunar rituals, meditations, creative prompts and artist highlights, we’ll trace how chthonic figures like Medusa and the Sirens have been portrayed, demonized, and reclaimed.
We’ll move through mythology, astrology, tarot, visual culture, and monster theory. You can expect invitations into both punk-scholarly inquiry and embodied, creative practice.
This is a collaborative, immersive space where dialogue, storytelling, and reinterpretation are encouraged. You’ll be invited to engage artistically, reflect personally, and contribute to collective meaning-making. You can engage in the way that feels most alive or accessible to you. All live sessions will be recorded. Nothing is mandatory. Enter as you wish. Play how you want. All course materials are yours to use and return to in your own rhythm.
That said, live attendance is encouraged when possible. It is fun and powerful to gather and create together.
WHO is THIS FOR?
This offering is for those drawn to myth, mystery, and embodied inquiry. For those who feel an affinity with the monstrous, the exiled, and the unruly. For artists, seekers, and rogue scholars who long to explore the chthonic through layered, poetic, and political practice.
Though we focus on femme archetypes, this course is not only 'for women'. These myths of rage, power, and transformation—speak across gender. They belong to everyone.
The chthonic creatures we study are often hybrids, part human, part animal, part divine. In their shapeshifting, they reveal how gender, identity, and power are not fixed but fluid. This is a space where binaries dissolve. Together, we’ll reclaim the stories of unruly femme figures while also queering the frame, reimagining power, rage, and justice beyond the bounds of patriarchal mythmaking.
No prior knowledge of astrology, mythology, or art is required. Come as you are.
COURSE STRUCTURE
Duration: Scorpio Season (Oct 22–Nov 21, 2025)Included:
3 Live Zoom Gatherings
Recorded Mythological Retellings
Artists Highlights
2 Lunar Rituals (recorded)
Tarot Spreads- One for opening, one for closing
Creative Exercises and contemplations
Bonus Content (TBA), collaborators & guests
Bibliography & Practitioner Resource List
Online Community Space
Exchange & Tuition:
$80 USD / €76 EU
All returning alumni receive 10% off.
All returning alumni receive 10% off.
RETURNING STUDENT? WELCOME BACK!
If you’ve taken Chthonic AF: Scorpio Season before, you are invited to return. Yes, there will be echoes. The myths may still be the same, but you are not, and that changes everything.
Some material will be familiar. Some will be new. And your experience of the underworld may deepen, shift, or surprise you on this second descent. Repetition is ritual.
If you joined us for Chthonic AF: Taurus Season, this course completes the axis. Where Taurus rooted us in matter, pleasure, and survival, Scorpio calls us into loss, transformation, and power. These poles speak to each other. Come explore their tension.
All alumni receive 10% off.
LIVE SESSION SCHEDULE
(Subject to change. I am a human.)
All live Zooms are held Saturdays at: 12:00 pm ET / 11:00 am CT / 18:00 CET
Recordings provided for all sessions.
~Wednesday, Oct 22 — Scorpio Season Begins: Course Opens
~Saturday, Oct 25 — First Live Meetup
~Saturday, Nov 1 — Second Live Meetup
~Wednesday, Nov 5 — Full Moon Ritual Recording Sent
~Saturday, Nov 15 — Final Live Meetup
~Thursday, Nov 20 — New Moon Ritual Recording Sent
~Friday, Nov 21 — Final Day of Scorpio Season: Closing Integration Recording Sent
MEET YOUR COURSE GUIDE:
I’m Mariola. I’m an artist, astrologer, teacher, and researcher from Puerto Rico, currently based in Paris. I explore visual and material culture in relation to myths of sky and earth, tracing how images, objects, and language shape cultural memory, political imaginaries and our relationships to power. I care about creating collaborative spaces of learning, where study, criticality and imagination can honor both the magical and the material conditions of our time. I am also deeply committed to having fun!
I have a Scorpio Stellium that includes my Rising, Sun, Saturn, Mercury, Pluto. Chthonic AF!
This course is an invitation to engage with chthonic mythology, visual culture, and creative practices in a way that is both personal and transformative. Whether you are drawn to the power of these ancient myths, the call of Scorpio season, or simply curious about the underworld archetypes that live within all of us, Chthonic AF is designed to offer a space for deep exploration, contemplation, play, reflection, and creative growth.
Note: This course is open to everyone—all genders are welcome, and no prior knowledge of mythology or astrology is required. This is a space of inclusivity and collaboration, where the archetypes we explore transcend gender and speak to the human condition.